Children of God
by JennJayBee
Summary: After the death of Pope Innocent VIII, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia sets his sights on the papal throne. With the aid of his son Cesare and a powerful stranger named Kol, Rodrigo is named Pope Alexander VI. But power comes with a price, and as Kol remains in Rome to help secure Alexander's position, it becomes clear that he has plans for Cesare and his sister, Lucrezia.
1. Introduction

"Children of God" was my first fanfiction, and while it had a small following, I never finished it. Why? To be honest, I love the story that I have mapped out in my head, but the more I looked at what I'd written the more I hated it. It was confusing—written in first person from two different points of view. (The last installment was to include two additional points of view.) But then I didn't have much of a plan when I started out. Now that I've had a chance to go back and clean things up, I am re-releasing it. I've added to parts that were originally too short. I've cut parts that were longer than they should have been. Most importantly, I've switched to third person to make things less confusing.

I'll get the chapters uploaded as quickly as I can convert them. I'll also be leaving it up this time. It's a fun story full of sex and scandal and politics and war and vampires. I always thought that if anyone could have ever challenged the Mikaelsons, it would be the Borgias. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do.


	2. Prologue

The candlelight struck the crimson pools on the floor and created a magnificent show of garnet sparkles along the walls. Lucrezia watched intently, thinking to herself that she'd never seen anything quite so beautiful. The life she'd taken had somehow created more life.

It was lucky, she thought, that the Cardinal's robes were red. He strolled from body to body, shaking his head in silent disbelief.

The young lord accompanying him was another matter. His brown eyes took in each and every detail in menacing delight. He was enjoying the moment. "I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome." He smiled as he bend over Lucrezia, lifting her chin gently so that he could be sure she saw the approval in his smile as he continued to address the Cardinal. "She is..." His voice trailed as he searched for just the right compliment. He was never the one to settle for something less than what he wanted, but he managed to complete the thought. "Perfection. She is nothing less than perfection, Cesare."

"Perfection?!" The Cardinal was angry, confused. He was desperate and grieving. There was something else there that Lucrezia couldn't quite place. "Are you viewing a different room and a different woman occupying it? I've never seen such carnage." The fabric he held up was still easily discernible in its familiar black and white, even though it was shredded and dripping with blood. A strand of brown hair and a bit of scalp from the woman who'd worn the headpiece was still dangling from it, and Lucrezia watched mesmerized it as it swayed back and forth. It was suddenly the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen, particularly as a single drop of blood fell to the floor.

The lord ignored his outrage and did not answer him, but Cesare continued on in a whisper that did nothing to mask his rage and horror. "These were women of God."

Lucrezia was the one to respond. "They were whores." Her sudden outburst claimed the full attention of both men. "Do not pretend they were not. You and Kol both know what has taken place here many times." Before she could blink the lord had been pushed aside as arms encased in the finest red fabric captured her in a tight embrace. He pulled away, his hands holding her face as he searched for something. Perhaps, she thought, he hoped to find something familiar, but Lucrezia knew that he would fail in such a quest._ The girl you are looking for is gone, Cesare._

She saw the loss as Cesare looked toward the floor in defeat. "Sweet sister, you were here for not an hour. Why have you done this?"

Lucrezia gave only the truth. "I was bored." The memory swept over her, and Lucrezia didn't bother to hide her euphoria as she began to sway from side to side, closing her eyes to watch the scene play out all over again in her mind. "Their screams were like beautiful music," she recalled. "I can still hear them in my head." Her eyes opened to something she had never before seen in her brother's face—fear. He was afraid, though she wasn't sure what he was afraid of. Her? Himself? Other, darker things that they now knew existed? Lucrezia frowned at the thought that she might have caused him such distress but continued to explain. "I wanted them to keep singing."

Fear in his eyes turned to rage as Cesare stood and whirled around to face the lord he'd brought in with him. "This was not part of our bargain, Kol. _You_ have done this to her!"

"Yes, I did." Kol was very matter-of-fact. "I've made her better—stronger than she would have ever been otherwise. I've made her great." He started toward Cesare, anger entering his tone. Kol didn't like being questioned. " She is powerful. She is immortal." The awe and affection he'd previously shown was starting to return to his voice. "Nobody will ever hurt her again. Nobody will ever use her again."

"Except for you," Cesare corrected him quietly. He returned his attention to his sister, kneeling so that he could look at her face once more. "Lucrezia, these women were servants of God. It was no small sin to slaughter them so."

The mention of sins amused Lucrezia, and she failed to hold back a dark laugh. "Then I shall confess my sins to you, dear brother, as many a sinner has before me. Tell me, Cesare. How many Hail Marys and Our Fathers must I say to absolve myself of a gaggle of nuns and secure paradise for my immortal soul?"

"There are times I question whether or not we still have souls to care for."

"We do, Cesare." Lucrezia's eyes fixed on a figure on the other side of the room. A familiar young girl had stepped from out of the shadows, though Lucrezia realized that only she could see her. The girl's every move dripped with innocence. She was who Cesare had been looking for before when he'd looked into Lucrezia's eyes, but she was fading. "Mine appears to be leaving me behind right now."

Tears welled in Cesare's eyes as he stood and marched toward Kol. "She's mad!" His arm swept out before him to indicate the aftermath of the massacre. "Look at all of this!" He gestured toward Lucrezia. "Look at _her_!"

Lucrezia paid the argument that followed little attention. She wasn't mad. She knew that couldn't be true. If anything, she'd never seen things more clearly, and she wanted to tell them both as much. The girl on the other side of the room, the girl she'd been, seemed to disagree as she finally vanished.


	3. Chapter 1

_**Rome, 1492**_

"You're a _priest_?!" The silly little thing's surprised screech reached the garden, but it wasn't until Cesare's latest conquest came stomping across the grass that Lucrezia bothered to looked up from the embroidery she'd been working on. This one was pretty, but then neither of her older brothers tended to bring ugly ones home with them. The lady's dark hair was still in tangles from the previous evening's activities, and yet it managed to look elegant while flowing behind her as she kept a hurried pace.

Lucrezia enjoyed a quiet laugh and silently hoped that she intended to dress herself before leaving the estate. Tongues would wag in any case, but they would wag even harder and likely never cease if she left in nothing more than her undergarments while carrying the rest.

Lucrezia didn't have to worry for very long. Cesare came following after his prey, laughing and playing at a chase as he gestured toward his own attire. "My dear, I was wearing this very cassock and collar last night when we met, and I was wearing it when I brought you here. Surely, you can't claim that you were in any way deceived."

She paused finally and turned to face him with delicate features reddened in anger. Lucrezia wasn't the least bit worried for her eldest brother. Cesare could persuade even the angels to fall from grace. Charming a young woman back into his bed was an easy task for him, particularly when she was only feigning ignorance and had sounded as if she was enjoying herself quite a bit the night before.

_At least I am not so foolish as to fall into the same situation_, Lucrezia thought. She'd seen a master at work, and she knew each and every one of his tricks. Still, Cesare could be fascinating to watch when he was at his best, and they hadn't seemed to notice her as she seated herself on the grass, stuck her needle safely in place within her work, and set her hoop down on an outstretched portion of her skirt. Even the small sigh she had given in response to the show yielded her no attention from either of them as she turned her own toward the scandal unfolding just a few feet away.

Cesare took his first opportunity to swoop in behind the brunette, his arm gently sweeping dark and tangled strands from her shoulder and neck as his lips hovered half a breath from the bare skin he uncovered in the act. The brunette relaxed within Cesare's arms. "I have sinned, Father, and you have broken your vow of chastity." She'd been attempting to sound remorseful, but her breathless delivery sounded so unconvincing that she might as well have fallen to her knees and begged Cesare to carry her back to his bed.

His other hand glided along her arm until he took her by the hand and tapped at the gold encircling her finger. "Adultery is a sin regardless, Madame. How convenient for you that you decided to defy God's command and your wedding vows with a priest!" Her hand was jerked away in indignation, but Cesare swiftly recaptured it, his voice thick and honeyed as he continued. "I could hear your confession now, if you like. Or if you'd rather wait…" His free hand was exploring, traveling across her stomach as he drew her back tightly against him. "We can give our Lord something worth troubling His ear for forgiveness." That hand was traveling lower still, and his prey was oblivious. Her breathing was so heavy that Lucrezia was surprised she could hear a word Cesare was saying to her. Cesare had won, and he knew it.

Suppressed laughter yielded to an unintentional cough as Lucrezia continued to watch the ridiculous scene unfold. The brunette had submitted without any real struggle on Cesare's part, and Lucrezia had heard him recite the exact same speech no fewer than a dozen times to as many women. Cesare finally took notice, though his companion was lost in her own reality, dreaming of the lovely sins she'd commit with the priest who offered to pardon them. He smiled, one hand leaving its newest post at her breast to lift a single finger to his lips as he granted his baby sister a wink. The roll of her eyes and disapproving glare that was her response was all but instinctive.

Lucrezia wondered what either of her brothers might do if a man tried such a thing with her. _No man would dare_, she thought._ Not with Juan constantly keeping watch, and especially not with Cesare._ Lucrezia had been blessed with three brothers. Cesare was the oldest, followed by Juan. Lucrezia had come next. Geoffre was the youngest of them all, and Lucrezia was grateful. Two older brothers could be overbearing enough. Three would have been unbearable.

But the boys had most certainly started to look. Lucrezia was not plain, with pale blonde curls that fell to her waist, a fair complexion, and a promising figure. Rome was filled with talk of how the bastard daughter of Cardinal Borgia was finally blossoming into a young woman. She was highly educated and quite clever, but the power and wealth of the Borgia name seemed to appeal far more than her beauty or wit ever would—at least to those who did not utter the word "Spaniard" with disgust.

It was that very talk of who might try for Lucrezia's hand that had led to a multitude of conversations with Cesare. "Men are very much like wolves, Lucrezia. They will devour you if you are not careful. "

She would always say what she could to set his mind at ease. "I'm cleverer than you think, Cesare."

He'd always laugh at that. "So you are... I pity the wolf who crosses your path, but if you need me I shall always be there to keep the wolves away."

* * *

It was several hours before Cesare emerged from his room yet again. The servants had set a table outside for the evening meal, and Lucrezia was already pinching small bites from a roll that had somehow found its way to her hand. Lucrezia had no knowledge as to where the brunette had wandered off to nor did she care. Cesare seemed to care even less as he approached her and claimed a cup of wine from the table. "Spying again, sis?"

"Having eyes is not the same as spying, Cesare."

"What did you think of that one?"

Lucrezia smiled and made the same jab she always did. "Can I come to your wedding?"

Cesare almost laughed as he brought the wine to his lips for a long swallow before he answered. "As always, you know my answer. I will never have a wedding."

Normally, Lucrezia would point out that her brother was betrothed to God, but she found she was in the mood for a different sort of game. "Then you shall have to come to mine."

Cesare raised a brow. "_Your_ wedding? Have not a single doubt that I will be there, sis. I shall have to determine, after all, whether or not your groom lives to see the wedding _night_."

"Do you think I will wed a good man, Cesare?"

"For his sake, I hope so." Cesare was no longer joking, and he sat down his cup only to pluck the roll from Lucrezia's hand and set it aside. With his hands on her shoulders, Cesare began to gauge her appearance as he changed the subject. "We've a guest arriving soon. You seem presentable enough for someone who has been sitting out here all day. Would you like to take a moment to go and roll around in the mud before he gets here?" He added a wink.

Cesare knew how to appeal to Lucrezia's curiosity. "A guest? Who?"

"A lord of some sort, I am told. His name is Kol. The rest of his family remains in England, and he is here on their behalf. It seems that their interests are in line with ours, and he'll be staying with us for some time."

"And what interests would those be?"

Cesare drew a slow breath before he continued. "Pope Innocent is ill. Father and the other cardinals believe he will not be with us much longer, and they will remain within the Vatican walls until he joins our Lord. When that time comes, they must select a new pope."

Lucrezia frowned. The thought of losing the pope saddened her, and yet the obvious possibility fascinated her. "Our father could take his place the new pope. He could have power above that of any king in all of Christendom." The reason for Kol's arrival was no longer a mystery, and it was not a question as she stated her observation to Cesare. "Someone with that kind of power would be a valuable ally, and Father wishes to become the new pope. Lord Kol is here to make sure that everything goes according to those wishes, to assist in buying or otherwise gathering the votes we need."

"Well, aren't you a bright little thing?" The voice from across the garden caught them off guard, and they both looked to see the young man as he approached. Had he heard them from that far away? He couldn't have been much older than Cesare. With their dark hair and eyes, they could have easily been mistaken as brothers. He seemed to be as good-humored as he was handsome, sporting a smile that promised trouble. Cesare wore a similar smile whenever he planned a night out. Lucrezia wondered to herself if Lucifer had such a smile as the young lord approached her brother and embraced him. "It is good to see you again, Father, though I understand you were not the one on bended knee last night." He chuckled at his own joke before he turned his full attention to Lucrezia. He was tall, and he seemed aware of that. He was slouching despite his obvious arrogance as he addressed them, but he lost no time in taking her hand within his and brushing his lips across her knuckles as he bowed. "You must be the fair Lucrezia I've heard so much about."

Lucrezia scrambled to remember her manners and offered a curtsy as well as a bow of her own head in response. "Lord Kol..." _God help Rome and the lost sheep within her walls_, Lucrezia thought. _There are now _two _wolves prowling her streets._

Cesare shifted uneasily next to his sister, but it was their mother who interrupted the introduction, bringing a cup of wine to their newly arrived guest. Vannozza dei Cattanei was a vision to behold, and it was easy to see how she'd caught the eye of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia. She'd kept him with her cunning, ever gentle and wise, and she spoke her mind. Nobility looked down upon women of her particular status—a mistress to a man of the cloth. Lucrezia admired her, as did all of the Borgia children. Cesare hurried over and placed a soft kiss to his mother's cheek before suggesting that they all take a seat. Kol extended a hand, and Lucrezia felt like a proper lady as he led her to the table.

Vannozza was the first to speak up. "I am told that you and Cesare will be working together on something for Cardinal Borgia. Does this 'something' have anything to do with the fact that Pope Innocent is rumored to be on his death bed?"

"You are as perceptive as you are a vision of beauty, Madame." Kol smiled toward Vannozza as he indulged in a bite of the cheese and herb pie the servants had prepared under her supervision. "The pope still breathes, however, and I hope that for tonight at least your son will be kind enough to introduce me to whatever pleasures this fair city has to offer."

Vannozza seemed confused. "Why only Cesare? I have two sons close to your age."

"Yes, Madame, but I fear one of them is in his room sleeping off the wine he had earlier and recovering from the fight it got him into." Kol explained further. "He is not harmed, save a few bruises. I happened to put a stop to it on my way here."

Lucrezia said nothing to express her concern. Juan had been known to get himself into trouble. Normally, Cesare would be the one to pull him out of it. Kol, it seemed, would have his hands full attempting to do the same.

Cesare clapped Kol hard on the back and smiled. "I suppose the duty falls to me, then, to introduce you to Rome. I shall not disappoint." The look they exchanged implied that they'd already made plans, and neither Lucrezia nor Vannozza would approve of them.

It was Lucrezia's turn to smile. "Perhaps I shall join the both of you."

"Perhaps you shall not." Cesare was smiling, but his eyes told Lucrezia that he was serious. She would not be joining them, or so he thought. If she followed, it would not be the first time she'd managed to do so undetected.

Kol leaned in toward Lucrezia's ear, whispering so that only she could hear as Cesare responded to Vannozza's concerns. "My own sister has taught me to never underestimate the cunning associated with your gender. If you are considering following us, I would strongly advise you against that now. If I broke Cesare's darling baby sister, his heart might break right along with you."

Lucrezia was not impressed, and she leaned in to respond with a whisper of her own. "I am a Borgia, and I will do as I please." Kol only laughed, and Lucrezia felt obligated to question it as best she could while Cesare and their mother continued with their own conversation. "Do I amuse you, Lord Kol?"

"It has been some time since someone was foolish enough to defy me. I suppose I _am_ amused."

"I am not as amused." Lucrezia hadn't noticed that her mother had left, and she certainly hadn't noticed that Cesare was now listening to their conversation. "You are not going, Lucrezia. Stay here with mother for tonight." He faced the young lord with a serious and secretive look. "You remember what we agreed upon?"

Kol merely nodded and finished off his wine.


End file.
